Give me liberty and/or give me death!

While that sort of news may initially sound quite good to most conservative, liberty loving ears (like mine) – especially in light of this week’s leftward lurch toward totalitarianism in America, we are well served not to swill too enthusiastically or deeply from the hard core Libertarian punch bowl.

Does the Word of God promote a worldview and approach to matters of state and government that is largely in harmony with libertarian thought?

Sure.

Is the Word of God clear on the minimalistic approach to federal level government and the role of the state?

Yessir.

Is the Word of God clear as to Who is and must always remain the explicitly acknowledged and pursued source of all true and lasting peace, liberty, prosperity, and freedom?

You betcha!

And what happens when we ditch that last point – the necessity of Christ at the core of our definition and pursuit of liberty and freedom? What happens when we want to skip or gloss over Him in pursuit of our notions of freedom, liberty, peace, and prosperity?

Well…look around. There are about a million examples a minute being cranked out in every direction on any given day right here in the “land of the free” and the home of the NSA.

And while you’re considering those, here’s a snippet from the Telegraph article that might help to clarify, yet again, what Christ-dismissing “liberty” looks like:

Nirvana for a libertarian in New Hampshire is a gay married couple guarding a stash of marijuana with an AK47.

“I could live with that,” said Ian Freeman, a leading light of the Free State Project and one of the pathfinders in a mass migration of like-minded people to the New England state.

The article is worth a read for Christians who are tempted to ignore the realities of secular Libertarianism.

The bottom line is this: All Christ-dismissing, man-centered worldviews ultimately lead to the same place. Christ-dismissing liberalism or leftism may be the most obviously rank and vile, but anti-Christian conservatism and libertarianism are perhaps even more dangerous because of how tempting they are to professing Christians. The more that our culture purposefully strives to conflate American patriotism with Christianity, the more tempting, entrenched, and destructive secular conservatism and libertarianism become.

Christ-centered liberty is irreplaceable and cannot be approximated. There is no “next best” option anywhere in His creation. We either have true liberty in Him, or we will have true bondage in whatever other system or worldview we choose to embrace and idolize.

Christ-centered liberty is life.

Man-centered “liberty” is death.

Everything of this world would have us choose the latter by any and all means necessary, including patriotism, liberty, and freedom…as defined by man rather than Scripture.

The meanings that we pour – and allow to be poured – into these words are very important. Every mention of liberty and freedom is an opportunity for Christians to bring the clarifying light of Truth to the conversation.

May God grace His people with the wisdom to recognize the vital distinctions between Christ-centered and Christ-dismissing libertarianism, and may He bless them with the strength, desire, and opportunity to stand firmly for the former while repudiating the latter.

Soli Deo Gloria…and let’s roll!

~

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